1. Field of the invention
This invention relates to a process for providing a smoke roast or otherwise desirable color to raw meat or meat skin with a coloring solution of liquid smoke and caramel and optionally a coloring agent such as annato. The coloring solution is added to the food product prior to packaging and cooking. After coloring, the meat is placed in a sealed package and cooked, or the meat may be cooked and then sealed in the package.
2. Description of the prior art
There are various patents dealing with the coloring of meat such as the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,196,220 (Chiu et al.)
This patent discloses the treatment of a tubular food casing with a mixture of albumin and liquid smoke for imparting smoke flavor and color to the casing. This is an example of the use of a liquid smoke composition combined with a diverse additive to color and flavor meat products.